House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) released a report today finding that Countrywide Financial’s “Friends of Angelo” and “VIP Program” to boost its lobbying efforts in Washington and strengthen its ties with Fannie Mae.

“The Committee’s investigation found Countrywide lobbyists and CEO Angelo Mozilo used discounted loans as a tool to ingratiate itself with policymakers in an effort to benefit the company’s business interests,” said Issa. “A former lobbyist for Countrywide testified that Members of Congress, staff, and other government officials were directed to the company’s VIP program as part of an effort to create a favorable impression of the company on Capitol Hill. This preferential treatment – that varied depending on the influence of the borrower – was not routinely offered to the public.”

The report details the findings of a three-year probe into the company’s use of discounted mortgages to curry favor with influential Washington policy figures.

In 2006, Countrywide financed 20 percent of all U.S. mortgages, but by 2008 Bank of America purchased the failing Countrywide for $4.1 billion.

The committee’s investigation found that the Countrywide VIP unit made 29 loans to 12 different members of Congress and staff, including former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Reps. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), Pete Sessions (R-Texas), and Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.).

“This report sheds new light on Countrywide’s relationship with Fannie Mae and how Countrywide used its VIP Program to cement its ties to its taxpayer backed business partner,” Issa said. “Other than Countrywide, no other entity’s employees received more VIP loans than Fannie Mae. Even as Countrywide’s CEO Mozilo mocked Fannie Mae and top executives for its crony capitalism business model, he would nonetheless personally intercede to ensure executives had access to discounted Countrywide loans.”

“These relationships helped Mozilo increase his own company’s profits while dumping the risk of bad loans on taxpayers,” Issa added.

Bridget Johnson is a veteran journalist whose news articles and opinion columns have run in dozens of news outlets across the globe. Bridget first came to Washington to be online editor at The Hill, where she wrote The World from The Hill column on foreign policy. Previously she was an opinion writer and editorial board member at the Rocky Mountain News and nation/world news columnist at the Los Angeles Daily News.
She is an NPR contributor and has contributed to USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, Politico and more, and has myriad television and radio credits as a commentator. Bridget is Washington Editor for PJ Media.

You will never see any indictments over this….this was BIPARTISAN corruption and neither side wants to have these payoffs and bribes revealed to the public. Ol Yellowstain and Dingy Harry will actually work together to keep the lid on this….Crooked Chris Dodd, Bawney ‘Post-E-Vac’ Fwank, the Clinton entourage, the list is endless…